Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton took their cases to North Carolina voters today, nine days before the May 6 Democratic primary.

In Wilmington, Obama told both supporters and potential supporters this afternoon that he is the best candidate to bring struggling Americans through the crisis of rising gas and food prices stretching pocketbooks in North Carolina.

Meanwhile, Clinton, at a campaign appearance in Graham, criticized Obama for opposing the concept of suspending the gas tax during the peak summer driving months, a plan both she and Republican John McCain have endorsed.

Obama returned to the Tar Heel state today for two days of campaigning to continue his push for many of the working-class votes that have gone to Clinton during much of the spring.

Obama reminded voters that he would bring troops home from Iraq but keep them in Afghanistan, that he would tie minimum wage increases to inflation, that he would demand a weekly report on progress in New Orleans and, as much as anything, that he believes in hope and the American dream.

He criticized Republican Sen. John McCain and President Bush more than Clinton, saying McCain would only continue the troubled years of Bush's presidency. “Everywhere you go, people feel as if the American dream is slowly slipping away,” Obama said.

Clinton commented at a firehouse in Graham, where she was urging North Carolinians to take advantage of the state's early voting, which opened more than a week ago.

The idea to suspend the 18.4 cent federal gas tax and 24.4 cent diesel tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day was first proposed by McCain, the likely Republican presidential nominee, as a way to ease the economic burden for consumers during the summer.

Obama does not support the "gas tax holiday" and has said the average motorist would not benefit significantly from such a suspension; by some estimates, the federal government would lose about $10 billion in revenue.

Clinton, who spoke in Graham this morning, will be in Salisbury and Concord this afternoon and Charlotte this evening. Plans for Tuesday have not yet been announced.

She and Obama have been pushing their supporters to go to the polls early here and in Indiana, which also votes May 6. Obama is favored in North Carolina while the two are competing closely in Indiana.

In addition to his campaign appearance in Wilmington, Obama also has planned town hall meetings on the economy in Wilson today and a rally in Chapel Hill tonight. On Tuesday, he'll be in Winston-Salem and Hickory.

Tickets are no longer available for Obama's town hall meeting in Wilson at the Bedding-field High School gymnasium. Doors open at 4 p.m., and the program starts at 6 p.m.

Doors open at 7 p.m. for the rally at the Smith Center in Chapel Hill. The program is scheduled to start at 9:30 p.m.

Tickets are required. The Obama campaign planned to distribute tickets until 5 p.m. today at:

- Morehead Planetarium, Chapel Hill - Crabber Town Hall, Crabber

- Pullen Arts Center, 105 Pullen Road, Raleigh - Old Durham Ball Park, Corporation and Morris streets, Durham - Pavilion parking lot, Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro - Youth Services Building, 201 W. Elm St., Graham